Former President Bill Clinton appeared alongside Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) at Stony Brook University Wednesday afternoon before a crowd 1,000 people, most of whom were college students.

The audience was a sea of illuminated screens as many of those who came to hear Mr. Clinton speak tried to digitally capture the former president.

The appearance comes just six days before voters will decide whether or not to elect the incumbent congressman to a fifth term or vote for his challenger, Republican Randy Altschuler of St. James. Mr. Bishop is one of a handful of Democrats whom national GOP leaders have targeted this mid-term election.

Mr. Clinton’s visit was intended to motivate younger voters, some who might be voting for the first time, to get out to polls on Election Day. During his speech he said that some experts estimate the 25 and under vote will drop 55 percent from the presidential election.

“Now if you let that happen, the polls are going to be right,” he said. “This is about your future.

Audrey Kubetin, the press manager for Mr. Bishop’s campaign said Stony Brook was chosen as the site because of Mr. Bishop’s ties to Southampton College, which was purchased by Stony Brook in 2006, and because he is a member of the House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee.

“We wanted to rally up young people and it seemed like a natural place to do it,” she said.

She said the campaign was only notified of Mr. Clinton’s appearance Monday. She said that within a day over 1,000 people had said they were attending the rally on Facebook.

“Watching him speak, it was amazing how fired up the crowd got,” she said. “I would love it if the energy and enthusiasm carried over until Tuesday.”

New York State Board of Elections records show there are nearly 1,500 actively registered Democrats currently residing on the Stony Brook campus. No other election district in Brookhaven has more than 1,000 enrolled Democrats. The campus can make a dent on Election Day. In the last federal election, Stony Brook University counted had an 80 percent voter turnout, five percent higher than the rest of the town. And 77 percent of campus voters chose Democrat Barack Obama in that year’s presidential election.

The event also drew some outspoken opposition, who lined the streets outside the facility toting “Dump Bishop” signs and vocally criticizing the congressman for voting for bank bailout and healthcare legislation.

Mr. Altschuler’s campaign manager, Rob Ryan, said he wasn’t fazed by Mr. Clinton’s appearance. He considered it a desperate, last-minute attempt by Democrats.

“I think it clearly shows Tim Bishop is in trouble,” he said. “This race is very tight and they are pulling out all the stops. This race will be a referendum on Tim Bishop’s record of voting record, and because of that, he will lose.”

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